Читать книгу The Ultimate Pursuit - Carl D. Smith - Страница 15

I was coming to the end of my time in Guam. My wife wanted a divorce; she got an attorney who drew up papers. She and her attorney called me to a meeting shortly after my release from the car chase ordeal. They wanted me to sign divorce papers which I did not want to do. I did not want to give up so easily. The attorney said she could force me into it somehow, and convinced me to at least sign a legally separated paper. I get angry when I am hurt, so I said, “Fine, you don’t want me anymore? I’ll sign.” I went immediately and filled out a request to be transferred—a request I knew would be granted. I had already done about a year longer than most Navy people do in Guam. In fact, in one week, my transfer was approved, and I was being relocated to a ship homeport of San Diego, the U.S.S. Long Beach CGN-9. This was one of the Navy’s most powerful ships! It was a nuclear–powered cruiser, 735 feet long. I was surprised that the Navy felt I deserved such a highly desired duty station.

I gave my wife all the furniture and household items we had bought in Guam; she agreed that I would keep the Toyota truck we had. I was allowed one vehicle to ship to my new duty station, so I dropped the truck off at the naval base at the other end of the island to make the trip to California. I would pick it up in four to six weeks in Long Beach, California.

As I packed my belongings, I could not help but reflect on all that had occurred in the last two and a half years in Guam. I was pretty sad; the hardest thing to deal with was my failed marriage along with the drug use I had gotten involved in which was way beyond anything I thought I would ever do. I was very concerned about what the future held for me. Would my parents be quick to figure out I was on drugs? What would that do to my relationship with them? Would my marriage somehow end up working out over time? That would be a real miracle. What new job would I be assigned to on the ship? There were so many questions and so many unknowns.

To top all that off, there was this negative buzz going on. President Nixon, the Chief Commander of the Military, was being forced to resign or the public was going to impeach him for the Watergate scandal. Was there anything in this world that was solid? Was there anything honorable that a person could trust in and not be disappointed? It felt like the world was crumbling around me. I wanted to cry, but rarely did. I found temporary relief in snorting China White, smoking pot and drinking alcohol.